PROTOCOL TO PREVENT, SUPPRESS AND PUNISH TRAFFICKING IN
PERSONS, ESPECIALLY WOMEN AND CHILDREN, SUPPLEMENTING THE UNITED
NATIONS CONVENTION AGAINST TRANSNATIONALORGANIZED CRIME

Preamble

The States
Parties to this Protocol,

Declaring that effective action to prevent and combat
trafficking in persons, especially women and children, requires a
comprehensive international approach in the countries of origin,
transit and destination that includes measures to prevent such
trafficking, to punish the traffickers and to protect the victims
of such trafficking, including by protecting their internationally
recognized human rights,

Taking into account the fact that, despite the existence
of a variety of international instruments containing rules and
practical measures to combat the exploitation of persons,
especially women and children, there is no universal instrument
that addresses all aspects of trafficking in persons,

Concerned that, in the absence of such an instrument,
persons who are vulnerable to trafficking will not be sufficiently
protected,

Recalling General Assembly resolution 53/111 of 9 December
1998, in which the Assembly decided to establish an open-ended
intergovernmental ad hoc committee for the purpose of elaborating a
comprehensive international convention against transnational
organized crime and of discussing the elaboration of, inter alia,
an international instrument addressing trafficking in women and
children,

Convinced that supplementing the United Nations Convention
against Transnational Organized Crime with an international
instrument for the prevention, suppression and punishment of
trafficking in persons, especially women and children, will be
useful in preventing and combating that crime,

Have agreed as
follows:

I. General provisions

Article 1

Relation with the United Nations Convention
against Transnational Organized Crime

1. This Protocol
supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational
Organized Crime. It shall be interpreted together with the
Convention.

3. The offences
established in accordance with article 5 of this Protocol shall be
regarded as offences established in accordance with the
Convention.

Article 2

Statement of purpose

The purposes of
this Protocol are:

(a) To prevent and combat
trafficking in persons, paying particular attention to women and
children;

(b) To protect and assist
the victims of such trafficking, with full respect for their human
rights; and

(c) To promote
cooperation among States Parties in order to meet those
objectives.

Article 3

Use of terms

For the purposes
of this Protocol:

(a) “Trafficking in
persons” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer,
harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of
force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of
deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability
or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve
the consent of a person having control over another person, for the
purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum,
the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of
sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or
practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of
organs;

(b) The consent of a
victim of trafficking in persons to the intended exploitation set
forth in subparagraph (a) of this article shall be irrelevant where
any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) have been used;

(c) The recruitment,
transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the
purpose of exploitation shall be considered “trafficking in
persons” even if this does not involve any of the means set forth
in subparagraph (a) of this article;

(d) “Child” shall mean
any person under eighteen years of age.

Article 4

Scope of application

This
Protocol shall apply, except as otherwise stated herein, to the
prevention, investigation and prosecution of the offences
established in accordance with article 5 of this Protocol, where
those offences are transnational in nature and involve an organized
criminal group, as well as to the protection of victims of such
offences.

Article 5

Criminalization

1. Each State Party
shall adopt such legislative and other measures as may be necessary
to establish as criminal offences the conduct set forth in article
3 of this Protocol, when committed intentionally.

2. Each State Party
shall also adopt such legislative and other measures as may be
necessary to establish as criminal offences:

(a) Subject to the basic
concepts of its legal system, attempting to commit an offence
established in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article;

(b) Participating as an
accomplice in an offence established in accordance with paragraph 1
of this article; and

(c) Organizing or
directing other persons to commit an offence established in
accordance with paragraph 1 of this article.

II. Protection of victims of trafficking in
persons

Article 6

Assistance to and protection of victims of
trafficking in persons

1. In appropriate
cases and to the extent possible under its domestic law, each State
Party shall protect the privacy and identity of victims of
trafficking in persons, including, inter alia, by making legal
proceedings relating to such trafficking confidential.

2. Each State Party
shall ensure that its domestic legal or administrative system
contains measures that provide to victims of trafficking in
persons, in appropriate cases:

(a) Information on
relevant court and administrative proceedings;

(b) Assistance to enable
their views and concerns to be presented and considered at
appropriate stages of criminal proceedings against offenders, in a
manner not prejudicial to the rights of the defence.

3. Each State Party
shall consider implementing measures to provide for the physical,
psychological and social recovery of victims of trafficking in
persons, including, in appropriate cases, in cooperation with
non-governmental organizations, other relevant organizations and
other elements of civil society, and, in particular, the provision
of:

(a) Appropriate
housing;

(b) Counselling and
information, in particular as regards their legal rights, in a
language that the victims of trafficking in persons can
understand;

(c) Medical,
psychological and material assistance; and

(d) Employment,
educational and training opportunities.

4. Each State Party
shall take into account, in applying the provisions of this
article, the age, gender and special needs of victims of
trafficking in persons, in particular the special needs of
children, including appropriate housing, education and care.

5. Each State Party
shall endeavour to provide for the physical safety of victims of
trafficking in persons while they are within its territory.

6. Each State Party
shall ensure that its domestic legal system contains measures that
offer victims of trafficking in persons the possibility of
obtaining compensation for damage suffered.

Article 7

Status of victims of trafficking in persons
in receiving States

1. In addition to
taking measures pursuant to article 6 of this Protocol, each State
Party shall consider adopting legislative or other appropriate
measures that permit victims of trafficking in persons to remain in
its territory, temporarily or permanently, in appropriate
cases.

2. In implementing
the provision contained in paragraph 1 of this article, each State
Party shall give appropriate consideration to humanitarian and
compassionate factors.

Article 8

Repatriation of victims of trafficking in persons

1. The State Party
of which a victim of trafficking in persons is a national or in
which the person had the right of permanent residence at the time
of entry into the territory of the receiving State Party shall
facilitate and accept, with due regard for the safety of that
person, the return of that person without undue or unreasonable
delay.

2. When a State
Party returns a victim of trafficking in persons to a State Party
of which that person is a national or in which he or she had, at
the time of entry into the territory of the receiving State Party,
the right of permanent residence, such return shall be with due
regard for the safety of that person and for the status of any
legal proceedings related to the fact that the person is a victim
of trafficking and shall preferably be voluntary.

3. At the request
of a receiving State Party, a requested State Party shall, without
undue or unreasonable delay, verify whether a person who is a
victim of trafficking in persons is its national or had the right
of permanent residence in its territory at the time of entry into
the territory of the receiving State Party.

4. In order to
facilitate the return of a victim of trafficking in persons who is
without proper documentation, the State Party of which that person
is a national or in which he or she had the right of permanent
residence at the time of entry into the territory of the receiving
State Party shall agree to issue, at the request of the receiving
State Party, such travel documents or other authorization as may be
necessary to enable the person to travel to and re-enter its
territory.

5. This article
shall be without prejudice to any right afforded to victims of
trafficking in persons by any domestic law of the receiving State
Party.

6. This article
shall be without prejudice to any applicable bilateral or
multilateral agreement or arrangement that governs, in whole or in
part, the return of victims of trafficking in persons.

(b) To protect victims of
trafficking in persons, especially women and children, from
revictimization.

2. States Parties
shall endeavour to undertake measures such as research, information
and mass media campaigns and social and economic initiatives to
prevent and combat trafficking in persons.

3. Policies,
programmes and other measures established in accordance with this
article shall, as appropriate, include cooperation with
non-governmental organizations, other relevant organizations and
other elements of civil society.

4. States Parties
shall take or strengthen measures, including through bilateral or
multilateral cooperation, to alleviate the factors that make
persons, especially women and children, vulnerable to trafficking,
such as poverty, underdevelopment and lack of equal
opportunity.

5. States Parties
shall adopt or strengthen legislative or other measures, such as
educational, social or cultural measures, including through
bilateral and multilateral cooperation, to discourage the demand
that fosters all forms of exploitation of persons, especially women
and children, that leads to trafficking.

Article 10

Information exchange and training

1. Law enforcement,
immigration or other relevant authorities of States Parties shall,
as appropriate, cooperate with one another by exchanging
information, in accordance with their domestic law, to enable them
to determine:

(a) Whether individuals
crossing or attempting to cross an international border with travel
documents belonging to other persons or without travel documents
are perpetrators or victims of trafficking in persons;

(b) The types of travel
document that individuals have used or attempted to use to cross an
international border for the purpose of trafficking in persons;
and

(c) The means and methods
used by organized criminal groups for the purpose of trafficking in
persons, including the recruitment and transportation of victims,
routes and links between and among individuals and groups engaged
in such trafficking, and possible measures for detecting them.

2. States Parties
shall provide or strengthen training for law enforcement,
immigration and other relevant officials in the prevention of
trafficking in persons. The training should focus on methods used
in preventing such trafficking, prosecuting the traffickers and
protecting the rights of the victims, including protecting the
victims from the traffickers. The training should also take into
account the need to consider human rights and child- and
gender-sensitive issues and it should encourage cooperation with
non-governmental organizations, other relevant organizations and
other elements of civil society.

3. A State Party
that receives information shall comply with any request by the
State Party that transmitted the information that places
restrictions on its use.

Article 11

Border measures

1. Without
prejudice to international commitments in relation to the free
movement of people, States Parties shall strengthen, to the extent
possible, such border controls as may be necessary to prevent and
detect trafficking in persons.

2. Each State Party
shall adopt legislative or other appropriate measures to prevent,
to the extent possible, means of transport operated by commercial
carriers from being used in the commission of offences established
in accordance with article 5 of this Protocol.

3. Where
appropriate, and without prejudice to applicable international
conventions, such measures shall include establishing the
obligation of commercial carriers, including any transportation
company or the owner or operator of any means of transport, to
ascertain that all passengers are in possession of the travel
documents required for entry into the receiving State.

4. Each State Party
shall take the necessary measures, in accordance with its domestic
law, to provide for sanctions in cases of violation of the
obligation set forth in paragraph 3 of this article.

5. Each State Party
shall consider taking measures that permit, in accordance with its
domestic law, the denial of entry or revocation of visas of persons
implicated in the commission of offences established in accordance
with this Protocol.

6. Without
prejudice to article 27 of the Convention, States Parties shall
consider strengthening cooperation among border control agencies
by, inter alia, establishing and maintaining direct channels of
communication.

Article 12

Security and control of documents

Each
State Party shall take such measures as may be necessary, within
available means:

(a) To ensure that travel
or identity documents issued by it are of such quality that they
cannot easily be misused and cannot readily be falsified or
unlawfully altered, replicated or issued; and

(b) To ensure the
integrity and security of travel or identity documents issued by or
on behalf of the State Party and to prevent their unlawful
creation, issuance and use.

Article 13

Legitimacy and validity of documents

At the
request of another State Party, a State Party shall, in accordance
with its domestic law, verify within a reasonable time the
legitimacy and validity of travel or identity documents issued or
purported to have been issued in its name and suspected of being
used for trafficking in persons.

IV. Final provisions

Article 14

Saving clause

1. Nothing in this
Protocol shall affect the rights, obligations and responsibilities
of States and individuals under international law, including
international humanitarian law and international human rights law
and, in particular, where applicable, the 1951 Convention and the
1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees and the principle
of non-refoulement as contained therein.

2. The measures set
forth in this Protocol shall be interpreted and applied in a way
that is not discriminatory to persons on the ground that they are
victims of trafficking in persons. The interpretation and
application of those measures shall be consistent with
internationally recognized principles of non-discrimination.

Article 15

Settlement of disputes

l. States
Parties shall endeavour to settle disputes concerning the
interpretation or application of this Protocol through
negotiation.

2. Any dispute
between two or more States Parties concerning the interpretation or
application of this Protocol that cannot be settled through
negotiation within a reasonable time shall, at the request of one
of those States Parties, be submitted to arbitration. If, six
months after the date of the request for arbitration, those States
Parties are unable to agree on the organization of the arbitration,
any one of those States Parties may refer the dispute to the
International Court of Justice by request in accordance with the
Statute of the Court.

3. Each State Party
may, at the time of signature, ratification, acceptance or approval
of or accession to this Protocol, declare that it does not consider
itself bound by paragraph 2 of this article. The other States
Parties shall not be bound by paragraph 2 of this article with
respect to any State Party that has made such a reservation.

4. Any State Party
that has made a reservation in accordance with paragraph 3 of this
article may at any time withdraw that reservation by notification
to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Article 16

Signature, ratification, acceptance,
approval and accession

1. This Protocol
shall be open to all States for signature from 12 to 15 December
2000 in Palermo, Italy, and thereafter at United Nations
Headquarters in New York until 12 December 2002.

2. This Protocol
shall also be open for signature by regional economic integration
organizations provided that at least one member State of such
organization has signed this Protocol in accordance with paragraph
1 of this article.

3. This Protocol is
subject to ratification, acceptance or approval. Instruments of
ratification, acceptance or approval shall be deposited with the
Secretary-General of the United Nations. A regional economic
integration organization may deposit its instrument of
ratification, acceptance or approval if at least one of its member
States has done likewise. In that instrument of ratification,
acceptance or approval, such organization shall declare the extent
of its competence with respect to the matters governed by this
Protocol. Such organization shall also inform the depositary of any
relevant modification in the extent of its competence.

4. This Protocol is
open for accession by any State or any regional economic
integration organization of which at least one member State is a
Party to this Protocol. Instruments of accession shall be deposited
with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. At the time of
its accession, a regional economic integration organization shall
declare the extent of its competence with respect to matters
governed by this Protocol. Such organization shall also inform the
depositary of any relevant modification in the extent of its
competence.

Article 17

Entry into force

1. This Protocol
shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the date of
deposit of the fortieth instrument of ratification, acceptance,
approval or accession, except that it shall not enter into force
before the entry into force of the Convention. For the purpose of
this paragraph, any instrument deposited by a regional economic
integration organization shall not be counted as additional to
those deposited by member States of such organization.

2. For each State
or regional economic integration organization ratifying, accepting,
approving or acceding to this Protocol after the deposit of the
fortieth instrument of such action, this Protocol shall enter into
force on the thirtieth day after the date of deposit by such State
or organization of the relevant instrument or on the date this
Protocol enters into force pursuant to paragraph 1 of this article,
whichever is the later.

Article 18

Amendment

1. After the expiry
of five years from the entry into force of this Protocol, a State
Party to the Protocol may propose an amendment and file it with the
Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall thereupon
communicate the proposed amendment to the States Parties and to the
Conference of the Parties to the Convention for the purpose of
considering and deciding on the proposal. The States Parties to
this Protocol meeting at the Conference of the Parties shall make
every effort to achieve consensus on each amendment. If all efforts
at consensus have been exhausted and no agreement has been reached,
the amendment shall, as a last resort, require for its adoption a
two-thirds majority vote of the States Parties to this Protocol
present and voting at the meeting of the Conference of the
Parties.

2. Regional
economic integration organizations, in matters within their
competence, shall exercise their right to vote under this article
with a number of votes equal to the number of their member States
that are Parties to this Protocol. Such organizations shall not
exercise their right to vote if their member States exercise theirs
and vice versa.

3. An amendment
adopted in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article is subject
to ratification, acceptance or approval by States Parties.

4. An amendment
adopted in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article shall enter
into force in respect of a State Party ninety days after the date
of the deposit with the Secretary-General of the United Nations of
an instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval of such
amendment.

5. When an
amendment enters into force, it shall be binding on those States
Parties which have expressed their consent to be bound by it. Other
States Parties shall still be bound by the provisions of this
Protocol and any earlier amendments that they have ratified,
accepted or approved.

Article 19

Denunciation

1. A State Party
may denounce this Protocol by written notification to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations. Such denunciation shall
become effective one year after the date of receipt of the
notification by the Secretary-General.

2. A regional
economic integration organization shall cease to be a Party to this
Protocol when all of its member States have denounced it.

Article 20

Depositary and languages

1. The
Secretary-General of the United Nations is designated depositary of
this Protocol.

2. The original of
this Protocol, of which the Arabic, Chinese, English, French,
Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited
with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned plenipotentiaries, being duly
authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have signed
this Protocol.